Macron confirms that power outages this winter will be in an “extreme state”

french president, Emmanuel Macronsought to minimize the risk of having to follow up Power outages this winter In order to stop an important part of the French nuclear park, they insisted It will only happen in the “extreme case” To which, however, it is convenient to be prepared.

“There should be no panicMacron repeated several times in an interview on the TF1 TV channel when asked about the possibility of these cuts, for which his government was preparing. emergency plans Which considers suspending electricity service for a maximum period of two hours and on a rotational basis according to geographical sectors.

“It is normal for the government to prepare for an extreme situation,” he explained. Thus avoiding chaos and organization, for example, continuity of transportation or essential services. “we are fictional scenariosBut you have to promise them,” he insisted, before adding that if everyone sticks to the so-called “sobriety plan” to cut energy consumption by 10%, the state electricity company EDF Continues its work to reactivate shut down nuclear reactorsThey won’t.

And that – and he added – despite the cold months of December and January. A comment of particular relevance these days, as temperatures in almost all of France have fallen below the usual temperatures for this time of year.

Now they are stopped due to maintenance work or defects that have been revealed in recent months, About twenty of the 56 reactors in the French nuclear parkWhich usually provides 70% of the country’s electricity. The result is that France has to import electricity on a regular basis. A block of neighbors, such as GermanyAnd the SpainAnd the Belgium or United kingdomThe director of the RTE network does not rule out the possibility of power outages during this winter in the event of cold waves.

On the other hand, Macron defended the importance of reforming the pension system, which his prime minister, Elisabeth Bourne, said would be formally introduced on December 15 so that its parliamentary processing begins in January to start applying next summer. The main component of that reform It is the postponement of the minimum retirement age in general from the current 62 years to 65 yearsIt is something that all unions and parties of the left and the extreme right oppose Marine Lépine.

But for the French president, “we have to do this reform” because otherwise The pension system will be “at risk”. Your government justifies this by saying that without reform a The system deficit reached 12 thousand million euros in 2027, which would continue to rise in the following years. In a similar vein, Macron stated that he is “indispensable”.